In a newly published interview with Fighting Spirit Magazine, TNA Wrestling Superstar Hulk Hogan discussed his strained relationship with the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage and desire to induct the legendary wrestler into the WWE Hall of Fame.
“I’ve heard all these urban legends about Randy doing something to piss Vince off,” said Hogan. “I’ve heard two or three different stories, and I don’t know if any of those are true, but he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and I would love to be the one that inducts him. I’ve got a speech for him ready to go. I just think it’s a must that he’s in the Hall of Fame; he was so influential in this business, especially in the WWF, and in my career.
“You know, he’s the only guy we could pass the belt to, and we wouldn’t lose money. You gave the belt to The Ultimate Warrior – I don’t want to drop a bunch of names – and right away the revenue went down. Give the belt to ‘Macho Man’, and things would stay the same, or get better.”
“For me, it would be cool to induct him. We had a rift for about 10 years, and then right before he passed away, I was getting an EKG, when I hear (mimicking Randy’s voice) ‘Yeah, what’s up, brother?’ And I looked over, and he was there, looking great. I said, ‘Hey Mach, how you doing?’ I shook his hand, and introduced him to my wife, Jennifer. He’s like, ‘Hello lovely lady, how ya doing?’ Jennifer said to him, ‘Oh, Mr. Macho, I’ve heard so much about you. You know, we’ve got three or four lawyers at the house today, so we’re gonna cook up. We’d love to have you over.’ But he just went, ‘I don’t dig lawyers, baby, maybe we could start out with a phone call?’
“I was on a show with Lanny (Poffo, Randy’s brother), Scott Steiner and Kevin Nash in Canada [around the time of Randy’s passing], and Lanny had told me that his mom was depressed because his dad had passed away, and would me and Randy come to see her? We were gonna have a barbecue at Randy’s house for his mom, and surprise her. But midweek, Randy passed away. It was tough because we just started talking after all that bullshit; I was excited to talk to him, he was excited to talk to me, and then he passed away. It was [expletive] up. He was a great human being, too. He had a good heart, man. He was a good person.”
Here’s Part 5 of our WrestleMania Retrospective series, looking back at past WrestleMania events as we march towards WrestleMania 29 on April 7th.
WrestleMania V (1989) Tagline: The Mega Powers Explode! Date: March 27, 1988 Venue: Trump Plaza, Atlantic City, NJ Attendance: 18,946 America The Beautiful: WWF Women’s Champion Rockin’ Robin
For the only time in WrestleMania History, WrestleMania IV and V were held at the same venue. Future WWE Hall Of Farmer Donald Trump stated in media outlets, that after the first WrestleMania was such a success, he had to have it again at Atlantic City. Although the event was promoted as being at the Trump Plaza, it was in fact held in the adjacent Boardwalk Hall.
The main feud heading into WrestleMania was between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, with the two battling over the WWF Championship.
Hogan and Savage first crossed paths on the October 3, 1987 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event, Savage got a shot at The Honky Tonk Man’s Intercontinental Championship but was attacked by the Hart Foundation; Hogan came to Savage’s rescue, thus solidifying Savage’s face turn.
At WrestleMania IV in March 1988, Savage defeated Ted DiBiase in a tournament final to win the vacant WWF Championship with help from Hogan and Hogan soon after came into the ring to congratulate Savage. Soon after, the duo formed a tag team known as The Mega Powers. They feuded with many heel tag teams throughout the entire year and were a successful team.
Savage dropping his patented elbow on Hogan at WrestleMania V
Mega Powers ruled and dominated the WWF for several months. However, their domination and tag team began to breakup in early 1989 as tensions slowly began to build between the two.
This all began on the January 7, 1989 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event, when Hogan was mercilessly beaten by The Twin Towers after his match with Akeem.
Savage came out and cleared the ring with a steel chair. Elizabeth took Hogan to the backstage which angered Savage. He thought that he was a third wheel and this was the beginning of the breakup of Mega Powers as Savage was angry that why his wife Miss Elizabeth was used by Hogan as his manager. He confronted her about the issue but she took Hogan to the backstage.
Problems increased further in the Royal Rumble match where Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage as he was trying to eliminate Bad News Brown.
On February 3 at The Main Event, Hogan and Savage faced The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss Man) in a tag team match that would set up the Mega Powers’ breakup. During a key point in the match, Savage was thrown out of the ring onto Elizabeth, knocking her unconscious. Hogan carried her to the back, leaving Savage to fend for himself in the ring against the much larger Akeem and Big Bossman;
Hogan eventually returned, but Savage slapped him in the face and took the belt in his hand and turned heel by abandoning Hogan.
Despite this, Hogan managed to pick up the win. After the match, Savage explained his frustrations to hogan and eventually attacked Hogan in the medical area of the arena.
Hogan would later challenge Savage to a match for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania, which Savage accepted.
The second main feud heading into WrestleMania was between Rick Rude and The Ultimate Warrior over the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Rude and Warrior were booked to face each other in a “Super Posedown” at Royal Rumble in January 1989. The winner had to be decided by a fan reaction, where Warrior won the posedown. After the posedown, a furious and angry Rude attacked Warrior. This led to a feud between the two and an Intercontinental title match at WrestleMania.
Rick Rude Vs The Ultimate Warrior
The second main feud heading into WrestleMania was between Rick Rude and The Ultimate Warrior over the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Rude and Warrior were booked to face each other in a “Super Posedown” at Royal Rumble in January 1989. The winner had to be decided by a fan reaction, where Warrior won the posedown. After the posedown, a furious and angry Rude attacked Warrior. This led to a feud between the two and an Intercontinental title match at WrestleMania.
During WrestleMania V, a Piper’s Pit segment featured a talk show “Loudmouth” Morton Downey, Jr. as a special guest. Before Roddy Piper could interview Morton, Brother Love came out dressed as Piper and impersonated him.
WrestleMania V Results
Piper extinguishes Morton Doweney Jr. At WrestleMania V
• The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss Man) (with Slick) defeated The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty)
• Brutus Beefcake and Ted DiBiase (with Virgil) fought to a double countout
• The Bushwhackers (Luke Williams and Butch Miller) defeated The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques and Raymond) (with Jimmy Hart)
• Mr. Perfect defeated The Blue Blazer
• WWF Tag Team Championship Match: Demolition (Ax and Smash) (c) defeated The Powers of Pain (The Warlord and The Barbarian) and Mr. Fuji
• Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin) defeated Ronnie Garvin
• The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) (with Bobby Heenan) defeated Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana)
• Jake Roberts defeated André the Giant (with Bobby Heenan) by disqualification w/ special guest referee Big John Studd
• The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) defeated The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine (with Jimmy Hart)
• WWF Intercontinental Championship Match: Rick Rude (with Bobby Heenan) defeated The Ultimate Warrior (c)
• Jim Duggan and Bad News Brown fought to a double disqualification
• The Red Rooster defeated Bobby Heenan (with The Brooklyn Brawler)
• WWF Championship Match: Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage (c)
The official WWE website is looking back at the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage today with a story on his intense animosity with Jerry “The King” Lawler in the late 1970s and early ’80s.
In those days, Lawler’s home promotion, the Continental Wrestling Association, was the chief promotion in Tennessee, Kentucky and parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Indiana and Arkansas. In 1978, the International Championship Wrestling was created by WCW Hall of Famer Angelo Poffo, the father of Savage and “The Genius” Lanny Poffo. ICW was considered an “outlaw” promotion, since it was not a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and promoted shows in direct competition against NWA regional leagues such as the CWA.
“What happened was Randy Savage, his brother Lanny Poffo and his father Angelo Poffo got the idea that they wanted to start a little promotion of their own,” Lawler told WWE.com. “When you’re on the bottom rung of the ladder, you usually think the way to get attention is to try to get the rub off the established guys. Well what Randy and his group did is they started making challenges.
“Randy Savage would go out and say, ‘I’m going to wrestle Jerry Lawler this Saturday night in Lexington!’ ” Lawler continued. “Of course, I was never going to be there. I didn’t even know this was being done. Then Randy would go out to the ring and say, ‘Would you look at this? Jerry Lawler’s a coward!’ That was their philosophy on how to make a name for themselves.”
Members of the renegade promotion would at times come to arenas where Lawler was running shows and harass his wrestlers in the parking lot, which put them on edge. As a precautionary measure, some carried weapons in their cars.
“The animosity between Randy Savage and myself went beyond the ring,” Lawler said. “It became really personal.” The full story is available here.
According to a high level source in WWE, Randy Savage is “off the list” for this coming year, since his brother Lanny Poffo told WWE that one of Randy’s last wishes was that the Poffo family would have to be inducted all together.
Lanny re-asserted this claim during a recent “shoot interview,” which made WWE Chairman Vince McMahon tell the writing staff “we don’t negotiate things like that.”
WWE feels its audience wants “the WWE Macho Man Randy Savage” inducted into the Hall of Fame, not “Randy, Lanny, and Angelo Poffo as a family unit.”
According to a key insider in WWE, a recent discussion with the writers led to the writers being told “we’re passing on Lanny’s claim, and so Randy will have to remain out for now.”
We’re told as far as WWE is concerned, while they want Randy in the Hall of Fame, they will not induct Savage the way Lanny Poffo is demanding.
– Chad Baxter indicated on Twitter Wednesday and Thursday that he has been released from his developmental contract with WWE.
“Good luck with your future endeavours,” he wrote in a message yesterday before stating he’s a free agent.
He then posted multiple fan messages offering encouragement, including one saying he can “always make an impact.”
Baxter, whose real name is Derek Foore, was a Notre Dame collegiate wrestling champion WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco recruited last year. He sparingly competed for NXT until the summer, and then was primarily relegated to non-televised events.
– Brad Maddox is featured in this week’s “Outside the Ring” as he prepares for his $1 million WWE contract match with Ryback. “Get inside Maddox’s head as his dream to compete in a WWE ring came true against an unstoppable juggernaut,” WWE states.
– Today would have marked as the 60th birthday of wrestling legend Randy Savage. He passed away on May 20, 2011 after suffering a fatal heart attack while driving.
– During a recent interview with NorthJersey.com, WWE champion CM Punk says he is hopeful that the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage will get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame one day.
“I hope that Randy would eventually get inducted in the WWE Hall Of Fame.” Punk added, “We don’t get to talk to Randy, share stories anymore and that part really sucks.”
– Independent wrestler Eric Hartsburg recently had a Mitt Romney tattoo put on his face in exchange for $5,000. Hartsburg held an auction to see who would win the rights to ‘brand’ his face and received $5,000 from the winner in exchange for Romney’s “R” logo, which now adorns his right temple.
Here’s a picture of the awesome, awesome life decision made by Mr. Hartsburg:
– As reported last week, Vince and Linda McMahon have begun paying back debts stemming from their bankruptcy filing in the 1970’s. Linda herself reportedly showed up to a car dealership in Connecticut over the weekend and presented them with a check for approximately $18,000 – four time what was owed back then (adjusted for interest and inflation).
– A new Air Jordan Nike sneaker has been released that pays homage to the late wrestling legend, “Macho Man” Randy Savage. The Jordan Aero Flight ‘Macho Man’ features a multicolored base that resembles many of the wrestler’s outfits. Sneakerfiles.com reports:
“Using a white base and cool 2-D panels, this basketball shoe adds neon green, hot pink, and purple accents for an authentic look that only the Macho Man himself would approve of.”
Check out this picture of the Jordan Aero Flight ‘Macho Man’
– September on WWE Classics On Demand, WWE Champion CM Punk hosts “Macho Madness,” a look at 20 of the greatest interviews in the legendary career of “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
The programming synopsis reads: “All September, it’s “Macho Madness” on WWE Classics On Demand. From iconic matches to unforgettable interviews, relive all the pomp and circumstance from the legendary career of “Macho Man” Randy Savage.”
– Former WWE Superstar Gangrel posted a tweet Monday in remembrance of Luna Vachon, who passed away two years ago to the day. He wrote, “LUNA VACHON, i know your at peace my sweet Angelle,flying high with angels! You are missed in this world!”
Vachon, aged 48, was found dead by her mother at their Florida home. According to the District Six Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida, she died from an “accidental overdose of oxycodone and benzodiazepine”. Investigators previously found crushed pill residue and snorting straws at multiple locations inside her house.
– This week’s issue of Sports Illustrated features an article on devoted fans of NFL teams and Reby Sky is among those pictured. Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, she gained fame as a New York Giants fanatic.
– The official website of WWE Corporate has updated Stephanie McMahon’s bio and it is noted that as Executive Vice President of Creative, her duties have expanded to overseeing the creative development of all WWE print, digital and social media content, in addition to the writing process for television and pay-per-view programming. She is also listed as a member of the Board of Directors for the social media company, Tout, Inc., which WWE has invested in.
Also, she is being referred again by her maiden name Stephanie McMahon, rather than Stephanie McMahon Levesque.
– WWE pays tribute to “Macho Man” Randy Savage all September on WWE Classics On Demand with “Macho Madness.” WWE has released a video teaser with the following synopsis: “All September, it’s “Macho Madness” on WWE Classics On Demand. From iconic matches to unforgettable interviews, relive all the pomp and circumstance from the legendary career of “Macho Man” Randy Savage.”
– Dolph Ziggler is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com. “The Showoff” will square off against Chris Jericho tonight at SummerSlam.
– WWE pays tribute to “Macho Man” Randy Savage all September on WWE Classics On Demand with “Macho Madness.” The synopsis for the month of programming reads, according to WWE Magazine: “Relive unforgettable matches and moments featuring one of the most popular Superstars of all-time, “The Macho Man” Randy Savage. Plus, see the entire 2012 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, including behind-the-scenes footage. Don’t miss the pomp and circumstance all month long on WWE Classics On Demand.”
– According to WWEDVDNews.com, a Raw 1,000 DVD and Blu-ray is scheduled to be released in December. The title will include moments from the 1000th episode, if not the entire episode, in addition to highlights from the history of the program.
Also scheduled for release is Best PPV Matches of 2012 before the year concludes. This title will be released on DVD and Blu-ray. The 2012 edition of the Survivor Series will be released on Blu-ray after last year’s show was only released in the format in Europe.
– The August 17, 2012 edition of WWE Vintage Collection pays tribute to Canadian wrestlers with the following matches: Dino Bravo vs. Sam Houston (WWF Prime Time Wrestling – July 25, 1988), Lance Storm vs. Chavo Guerrero (WCW Monday Nitro – July 31, 2000), Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Guerrero (WCW Thunder – January 15, 1998), Edge vs. Christian (WWF Unforgiven – September 23, 2001), The Hart Foundation vs. The Rougeaus (WWF live event at Boston Garden – September 10, 1988). (Thanks to Devin Cutting)
Primary names being discussed for the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on April 6 at Madison Square Garden are individuals with connections to the New York City area.
* Mick Foley, who hails from New York and was inspired to become a professional wrestler after watching “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka leap from the top of a steel cage in Madison Square Garden
* Kevin Nash, who defeated Bob Backlund in eight seconds at Madison Square Garden to win the WWF Championship.
* Bob Backlund, who declined an invitation to be enshrined in 2004 and headlined numerous events at Madison Square Garden in the 1970s and 1980s.
WWE officials have also discussed enshrining the late Randy Savage, although it is unknown as to whether his family, the Poffos, have been approached on the matter.
Triple H has taken a much greater role in coordinating the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and WrestleMania than he has in the past for the events. It was his decision to reach out to Bruno Sammartino in June and he personally handled site surveying for MetLife Stadium.
Raj Giri of WrestlingINC.com recently interviewed former WWE and TNA superstar Matt Hardy. In part one of the interview (view here), Hardy discussed his time an an enhancement talent for WWE, his favorite stars growing up, working with the Kliq, tag team wrestling today and much more. here are some highlights of what Hardy said about:
His Favorite Wrestlers Growing Up: “Obviously, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage just because he was the first guy I was really drawn to and I think he was one of the top guys in the company at the time and his finishing move was a flying elbow drop off the top rope. For me, I thought it was really cool. A lot of guys did moves that seemed more boring. There was the Hulk Hogan leg drop. ‘Macho Man’ always flew off the top to do his elbow drop and it was very exciting.”
“Obviously, growing up in North Carolina, I was a big Ric Flair fan. I dug him, he was from Charlotte. The Four Horsemen were very cool. I was a big fan of the Freebirds as well. It was very ironic that later on, I’d work with Michael Hayes. When I first started wrestling and Jeff and I were on a trampoline, I actually emulated Michael Hayes and the Freebirds to a degree with the way my character wrestled, dressed and acted and whatnot.”
What It Was Like Being WWE Enhancement Talent: “It was exciting. We actually went the very first time with ‘The Italian Stallion’ Gary Sabaugh and we did shows for him all across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee. We’d work Thursday, Friday, Saturday and sometimes for free. But, as long as we would work all his shows, he would take us to WWE every few months when he got the opportunity to. So, we were really excited. The first time walking in the dressing room and just seeing the guys you’ve grown up watching on TV. They’re real human beings and they’re interacting. Actually, getting to see that every superstar was actually a human being was a pretty amazing feeling.”
Whether Anybody Gave Him Advice Early In His Career:
Hardy: There wasn’t really anyone that gave us an overload of advice. But the one thing I will say, the first time me and Jeff went up, we both wrestled Scott Hall/Razor Ramon and he was really good to both of us. The first night, he wrestled Jeff and Jeff was only 16. He had to lie about his age and move his birthday back by two years and he kind of banged Jeff’s knee on the pole when he was doing a certain move in the match. He checked on him the next day and the day after that. All the Kliq guys, especially Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were really cool to Jeff and I in the beginning. Jeff has his hair cut like Vanilla Ice, they actually called him Ice. They always knew the Hardy Boyz and the Ice guy. So, they were really cool to us overall. You hear a lot of horror stories about those guys, but Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and X-Pac were all really good to us early on.
Favorite Memories Of His First WWE Run: “Man, it’s really amazing that we were able to come in during that time. Once again, looking back, ‘Stone Cold’ was white hot. The Rock was white hot. DX was a huge deal. For Jeff and I, once we got out on the road full time, we were wrestling Too Cool/Too Much every night as the opening match. For us, we almost became accustomed to it. Every night, we were in a building that was sold out with 20,000 people. That was pretty amazing, pretty special. I think we were almost spoiled a little bit because in 2001-2002 when the business slowed down a little bit and the big, hot Attitude cycle ended and the shows weren’t sold out anymore, we were like, ‘Oh, my God. What is this? We’ve never seen this before. This is new to us.’ So, we were really lucky and really gifted to be there.
I mean, there were so many great memories between the ‘Stone Cold’-McMahon thing. Just for us, obviously, our feud with Edge and Christian and going through with the first ever tag team ladder match and having that and the TLC matches. Winning the tag team titles, which was our only goal that we really set for ourselves when we started in the business. There were so many great, monumental moments that there’s too many of them to list now. But, it was a really special time in the wrestling business.”
Legendary wrestling broadcaster “Mean” Gene Okerlund joined Inside The Ropes this past Thursday and divulged that the late Randy Savage declined WWE’s multiple invitations to join their Hall of Fame.
When asked why the “Macho Man” isn’t in the Hall, he responded, “Are you telling me that the WWE hadn’t made an overture to Randy about being in the Hall of Fame? That’s BS. They asked him many times and he declined. For whatever reason, that’s what I’m still trying to figure out.”
Okerlund also gave his thoughts on Savage’s rival Ultimate Warrior.
“He did have a look, that’s about as far as it goes. He couldn’t talk, he sure as hell couldn’t work in the ring, that was very marginal. I think one of the worst matches I’ve seen in my life was between Warrior and Papa Shango. What a disaster of monumental proportions,” he said.
Okerlund also explained how WWE’s pay-per-view frequency has changed the promotion.
“I personally think we have way too many pay-per-views,” he says. “I don’t think we get the chance to adequately develop the storylines with the guys and gals between pay per views. I’d like to see us down to about eight pay per views a year.”
In this ninety-minute interview, Okerlund explains the real reason he went to WCW in 1993, his views on “Rowdy” Roddy Piper not being given enough credit for WrestleMania, hating an angle Vince Russo scripted him and more. Visit insidetheropes.podbean.com and check out www.facebook.com/theinsidenetwork for upcoming shows and guests.
– With WWE’s sixty-day suspension of Randy Orton for his second violation of the Talent Wellness Program last Wednesday, the sentiment within the organization is that management is getting serious about drug testing since he is a top star. It has been widely speculated in the past that WWE officials selectively enforced drug testing policy violations based on a wrestler’s importance to the organization.
Since last July, WWE has handed out ten suspensions to nine performers (Andy Leavine, Darren Young, Evan Bourne, Heath Slater, Mike Chioda, R-Truth, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara), the most within a one-year period since WWE began publicly announcing all Talent Wellness Program violations on November 1, 2007. From November 2008 up until the July 2011 announcement of Sin Cara’s suspension, the company had only issued one suspension (to Rey Mysterio).
– WWE.com has published a playlist of “Macho Man” Randy Savage interviews that make you go “Ooh Yeah!”
– WrestlingFigs.com says Maria Kanellis will appear at Wrestling Universe 7 Main St. Watertown, Massachusetts on Saturday, July 14 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Call 617-744-6455 for more information.
— Sin Cara competed in his first match of 2012 at Saturday’s WWE Supershow in Florence, South Carolina, defeating Hunico in the opening match. He had been sidelined since Survivor Series due to a patellar tendon rupture.
— The following matches are advertised for WWE’s post-SummerSlam tour of Australia taking place August 30 through September 1: John Cena vs. Lord Tensai and John Laurinaitis, WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan and United States Champion Santino Marella vs. David Otunga.
— Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the passing of Randy Savage. The legendary wrestler died after suffering a sudden, massive heart attack while driving with his wife in Seminole, Florida. He became unresponsive and lost control of his Jeep Wrangler, crashing into a tree.
— WWE.com has posted a list counting down the top twenty-five Intercontinental Champions of all-time and Randy Savage comes in at number one. He is trailed by Chris Jericho, Ultimate Warrior, Mr. Perfect and Pat Patterson. To view the complete list, click here.
— BarbershopWindow.com has released a “Kamala” Benefit T-Shirt, with all proceeds going to aid the legendary wrestler’s medical bills. The first seventy-five customers who order the shirt will receive an autographed photo of WWE developmental wrestler Kassius Ohno (a/k/a Chris Hero).
The former WWE Superstar has undergone amputation of both of his feet due to his ongoing battle with diabetes.
— Mick Foley will perform stand-up comedy this Thursday in Williamstown, New Jersey at Antony & Cleopatra’s. Call 856-629-2211 for event information.
WWE Hall of Famer Paul Orndorff appeared on Inside The Ropes on Thursday night and slammed Bret Hart, Ric Flair and Ultimate Warrior (audio available here) . Highlights are are as follows:
Facing Ric Flair in 1982 for NWA World Championship: “He was just another body. Some are better than others. I believed in making it look real. I was probably hard to work with because I wanted it to make real and I knew how to wrestle.”
Experience of working at the first WrestleMania in the main event: “It was special. There were so many people. It was the largest crowd to ever watch it. And then the pay per view of it was just ungodly. This was my opportunity to be really noticed and be seen. My paycheck….it was huge. I made more money in that 30 minutes than I did in a whole year with the NWA. People expected it and they were gonna get it from me.”
Working with Mr. T in the main event of WrestleMania: “I wasn’t crazy about it. I was very protective WrestleMania 1of the business. I was taught that. You take care of it. You don’t give out all your trade secrets. But then again you look at somebody like Ric Flair and you can say how can you hide something when they look like that? So I guess I started to give in a little bit.”
Transition in WWF from wrestling to entertainment in mid 80’s: “It depends on your personality. I protected it. To me that wasn’t protecting it. As you can see right now, because they didn’t protect it, where it is now, there’s only two shows now. Look how many there was, there was one in every state, now look where it is.”
On Vince McMahon using guys like Ultimate Warrior, more about the body: “I thought it was the worst move they could’ve made. Vince did it on purpose. He did it so he could be the only one.”
On Ultimate Warrior: “He never paid his dues. You gotta pay your dues, go and learn your trade that’ll make it better when you are on that big stage. It’s called experience and nobody has any now, because there’s nowhere to go to get it.”
Right decision on giving belt to smaller stars like Randy Savage and Bret Hart?: “No. Absolutely not. It’s like putting the belt on someone who wants to be a wrestler. It didn’t work. It downgraded, made the belt worthless. When Terry Funk, Harley Race had world titles, it meant more.”
Opinion on long rumur that Hogan wouldn’t drop the belt to Bret Hart in 1993…: “I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t have either. Bret Hart was a nobody from Canada and Hogan was the greatest star in wrestling. I don’t blame him. He did the right thing.”
Quick Fire Thoughts
Ultimate Warrior: “I gotta go to the bathroom………………..NEXT!”
— WWE Classics On Demand takes a trip back to the ’80s in April with the best moments and matches from the decade. Those highlighted include Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Junkyard Dog, Road Warriors and more.
— WWE.com has published a photo gallery highlighting The Brooklyn Brawler’s career. He currently works for WWE in a behind the scenes capacity.
— Former WWE Women’s and Divas Champion Melina competes for Family Wrestling Entertainment on April 28 at The Hall at St Paul, 59th Street + 9th Ave, New York, New York. Though her opponent has not been announced, former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis currently holds the promotion’s women’s title.
– Former WWE Champion Ultimate Warrior asked his Twitter followers on Sunday to name their favorite Ultimate Warrior moment at WrestleMania. WWE Champion CM Punk took part in the session and answered “Warrior vs Savage.”
– Madusa, who formerly competed for WWE as Alundra Blayze, revealed Saturday on Facebook that she was recently contacted by her former employer. Regarding this, both F4WOnline.com and PWInsider.com speculate that she was among the huge number of former talent invited to take part in interviews for upcoming WWE Network features. WWE will be filming several interviews in the week leading up to WrestleMania XXVIII in Miami, Florida.
– Former WWE Champion Ultimate Warrior asked his Twitter followers on Sunday to name their favorite Ultimate Warrior moment at WrestleMania. WWE Champion CM Punk took part in the session and answered “Warrior vs Savage.”
– Reports of Hunico appearing in place of Epico as Primo’s tag team partner at Friday’s Raw live event at Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum are incorrect as SLAM! Wrestling published photos of Epico at the show.
– Two-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion Nunzio turns 40 years old Monday while former WWE Diva Nidia turns 33.
— Raw Interim General Manager and WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis, who takes the reins as the board-appointed General Manager of SmackDown on Friday, teased a Steel Cage Match for the show via Twitter. He wrote Thursday afternoon,
“A U.S. Title rematch between @milanmiracle and @RealJackSwagger would make #SmackDown REALLY special. And I’ve always loved steel cages …”
— LocalBozo.com conducted an interview with Edge promoting WWE Studios’ latest release – Bending the Rules. The Rated-R Superstar provided insight into his current state of contentment in retirement, his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame and speech, whether he considers himself an actor now, whether he’ll work with WWE again and more.
— WWE.com has published a photo gallery of WrestleMania VIII, which featured Ric Flair defending the WWE Championship against “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
— Lanny Poffo appeared on a podcast hosted by Steve Wilton and commented on the possibility of Randy Savage being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. Poffo said he did not hear from WWE after his brother passed away last May and that he has not heard from them regarding enshrinement into the Hall.
Lanny claimed last year during an interview that Randy would have only accepted enshrinement into the WWE Hall of Fame if the Poffo family (Angelo, Lanny and Randy) went in together like the Von Erichs. Randy pulled a similar power play in 1995 as Angelo was inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame as a favor from management. Legendary wrestling announcer Gordon Solie objected to Poffo’s induction because he did not consider him to be a notable wrestler.
— Former WWE performer Shelly Martinez appears with her sister Danielle on this Saturday’s episode of Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan. The reality program, which features Millan working with “problem dogs,” airs at 8:00 p.m. on Nat Geo WILD.
— Dan Severn and WWE Hall of Famer Ivan Putski have been announced for WrestleReunion, which takes place January 27-29 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport 5400 West Century Blvd. Los Angeles, California.
— Randy Orton, who is out of action after suffering a herniated disc on the L4-L5 level on the left side, is scheduled for the Jan. 16 Raw SuperShow in Anaheim, California and the Royal Rumble taking place Jan. 29 in St. Louis, Missouri.
— The back page of USA Weekend features an article on the late Randy Savage. The legendary wrestler died of a sudden heart attack while driving with his wife, Barbara Lynn Payne, in Seminole, Florida on the morning of May 20, 2011.
— SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia rang in the new year by partying with her TNA Wrestling equivalent, Christy Hemme. A photo of the two with former WWE Diva Candice Michelle is available here.
— Former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler is featured in the latest issue of the National Enquirer with a story devoted to the best and worst beach bodies in Hollywood.
— Radar Online reports Thursday that 14-time Major League Baseball All-Star Alex Rodriguez is dating former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson.
The 36-year-old former pro wrestler spent the holidays with her family in Boise, Idaho, where Rodriguez was coincidentally spotted as well.
Rodriguez and Wilson were photographed earlier this month taking a bike ride together in Miami, Florida. Wilson was also spotted in photographs taken earlier this year while Rodriguez was vacationing in Mexico with friends George Clooney and Stacy Keibler.
— Randy Savage is mentioned in the Chicago Sun-Times list of notable sports deaths in 2011. The legendary wrestler died of a sudden heart attack while driving with his wife, Barbara Lynn Payne, in Seminole, Florida on the morning of May 20, 2011.
— Alberto Del Rio has been removed from WWELiveTour.com’s talent line-up for Monday’s Raw SuperShow in Chicago, Illinois and the entire Raw Holiday Tour. He was advertised for three-way bouts for the WWE Championship with CM Punk and The Miz.
Del Rio suffered a groin injury during the main event of Monday’s Raw SuperShow and is being given time off to recover. He is not expected to be sidelined for too long.
— FoxNews.com has published photos of wrestling stars before they were famous including The Undertaker’s high school yearbook photo. Others highlighted include The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Bill Goldberg, John Cena, Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Jesse Ventura, Randy Orton, Vince McMahon, Randy Savage and Stephanie McMahon.
— Maria Kanellis said on Afterbuzz she will be wrestling Jillian Hall at an independent event next year. Kanellis is advertised to face Tara in her return to the squared circle on February 25, 2012 for New York City based promotion Family Wrestling Entertainment.
